


a tale of first meetings

by glass_icarus



Category: Robin McKinley - Damar series
Genre: Gen, Yuletide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-01-01
Updated: 2008-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-03 22:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glass_icarus/pseuds/glass_icarus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tor and Aerin, pre-series; written for astrophelstella in the Yuletide 2007 Challenge. [G]</p><p>A/N: Thanks to C. for the last-minute beta!</p>
            </blockquote>





	a tale of first meetings

The baby Galanna is a pretty child, with a doll-like porcelain face and a tracery of delicate blue veins beneath her pale, fine skin. Four-year-old Tor looks at her with fascination, until she opens her mouth and lets out an ear-piercing, high-pitched shriek. He screws his eyes shut with distaste, and runs out of the audience hall at the earliest opportunity to skip stones across the river with the older cousins of the king's household.

He is understandably nervous when, a few years later, the court gathers to welcome the king's new daughter, each member approaching the cradle set in the audience hall to pay their respects to the first sol. This crib is even more intimidating than the last, encrusted with precious stones and good-luck charms, and festooned with gold and silver ribbons. At least, Tor thinks, with typical boyish scorn, it isn't frilly and pink.

He watches as his cousins make their obeisance, one by one, returning with fixed smiles and uneasy gazes. _Witch's daughter, ill-luck child_, he hears, and frowns. He doesn't have many memories of Aerin's mother, as she was too sick to leave her rooms towards the end of her pregnancy, but he recalls her smile, when he accidentally broke her window during a game of catch. Teka scowled at him furiously and threatened to box his ears, but the queen just laughed and laced her fingers through his hair, pressing the errant ball into his open palm with gentle fingers.

When Galanna, termagant child that she is, begins to echo the uneasy whispers, Tor lifts his chin and cuts in front of Perlith, who is next in line. "I'd like to see her, if you don't mind," he says to Arlbeth, who smiles and beckons him forward.

Aerin-sol looks like a tiny old man, with wrinkly skin that hasn't smoothed out yet, and a crooked, toothless grin. Her skin is red and blotchy, and her head is covered with flame-colored fuzz. Her eyes are clear, though, and they follow Tor with a curious gaze. Tor stands on his tiptoes, leaning over the side of the cradle to kiss her forehead, and Aerin lets out a giggle. He pokes at her tummy with gentle fingers, and she wriggles and squeaks with laughter. Arlbeth, looking on with an indulgent smile, signs for Teka to lift her out of the crib, and Tor stretches out his arms to accept the baby's weight. He sits on the floor and begins to make shadow puppets in the sunlight streaming in through the window. Aerin squirms in his lap, clapping her hands and making insistent noises, and he forgets all about the waiting nobility as he thinks of new animals as fast as he can.

After nearly an hour has passed, Teka lays a hand on his shoulder and motions for him to rise. Tor frowns, but stands obediently, with Aerin in his arms. "Can I come back and see her later?" he asks.

"After her nap, perhaps," Teka says, glancing at Arlbeth for his approval.

Tor nods reluctantly, pressing his fingers into Aerin's sides to hear her burbling laugh. "Goodbye, then, Aerin-sol," he whispers into the baby's ear, passing her back to her nurse. "I'll see you again soon."

Aerin smiles up at him, then, wide and sweet and transparently happy, and as her tiny fingers close around his hand, Tor feels them press indelibly against his heart.

 Please [post a comment](http://www.yuletidetreasure.org/cgi-bin/comment.cgi?filename=50/taleof&filetype=html&title=a%20tale%20of%20first%20meetings) on this story.

Read [posted comments](http://www.yuletidetreasure.org/archive/50/taleof_cmt.html).

 

  
  
  


    


 


End file.
